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Video Production Chapter 8

Terms in this set (128)

additive primary colors
Red, green, and blue. Ordinary white light (sunlight) can be separated into the three primary light colors. When these three colored lights are combined in various proportions, all other colors can be reproduced.
attached shadow
Shadow that is on the object itself. It cannot be seen independent of (detached from) the object.
background light
Illumination of the set pieces and the back- drop. Also called set light.
back light
Illumination from behind the subject and opposite the camera; usually a spotlight.
baselight
Even, nondirectional (diffused) light necessary for the camera to operate optimally. Refers to the overall light intensity.
cast shadow
Shadow that is produced by an object and thrown (cast) onto another surface. It can be seen independent of the object.
color temperature
Relative reddishness or bluishness of white light, as measured on the Kelvin (K) scale. The norm for indoor video lighting is 3,200K; for outdoors, 5,600
contrast
The difference between the brightest and the darkest spots in a video image.
diffused light
Light that illuminates a relatively large area and creates soft shadows.
directional light
Light that illuminates a relatively small area and creates harsh, clearly defined shadow
falloff
The speed (degree) with which a light picture portion turns into shadow areas. Fast falloff means that the light areas turn abruptly into shadow areas and there is a great difference in brightness between light and shadow areas. slow falloff indicates a very gradual change from light to dark and a minimal brightness difference between light and shadow areas.
fill light
Additional light on the opposite side of the camera from the key light to illuminate shadow areas and thereby reduce falloff; usually done with floodlights.
Floodlight
A lighting instrument that produces diffused light.
foot-candle (fc)
The unit of measurement of illumination, or the amount of light that falls on an object. One foot-candle is 1 candlepower of light (1 lumen) that falls on a 1-square- foot area located 1 foot away from the light sourc
high-key lighting
Light background and ample light on the scene. Has nothing to do with the vertical positioning of the key light.
incident light
Light that strikes the object directly from its source. To measure incident light, point the light meter at the camera lens or into the lighting instruments.
key light
Principal source of illumination; usually a spotlight.
LED lights
LeD stands for light-emitting diodes. A solid-state device that changes electric energy into light energy. Most computer screens use LEDs as the light source.
light plot
A plan, similar to a floor plan, that shows the type, size (wattage), and location of the lighting instruments relative to the scene to be illuminated and the general direction of the light beams.
low-key lighting
Fast-falloff lighting with dark background and selectively illuminated areas. Has nothing to do with the vertical positioning of the key light.
lux
European standard unit for measuring light intensity. One lux is 1 lumen (1 candlepower) of light that falls on a surface of 1 square meter located 1 meter away from the light source. 10.75 lux = 1 foot-candle. Most lighting people figure roughly 10 lux = 1 foot-candle.
photographic principle
The triangular arrangement of key, back, and fill lights. Also called triangle, or three-point, lighting.
reflected light
Light that is bounced off the illuminated object. To measure reflected light, point the light meter close to the object from the direction of the camer
RGB
Stands for red, green, and blue—the basic colors of television.
spotlight
A lighting instrument that produces directional, rela- tively undiffused light.
triangle lighting
The triangular arrangement of key, back, and fill lights. Also called three-point lighting and photographic principle.
white-balance
To adjust the color circuits in the camera to pro- duce white color in lighting of various color temperatures (relative reddishness or bluishness of white light).
Lighting
is deliberate illumination and shadow control.
LIGHT
Directional and diffused light, light intensity and how to measure it, measuring incident
and reflected light, and contrast
SHADOWS
Attached and cast shadows and controlling falloff
COLOR
Additive and subtractive mixing, the color television receiver and generated colors, and
color temperature and white-balancing
LIGHTING INSTRUMENT
spotlights, floodlights, and instruments for specific tasks
LIGHTING TECHNIQUE
operation of lights, lighting safety, studio lighting and the photographic principle, the
light plot, last-minute lighting techniques, and field lighting
Directional light
has a precise beam that causes harsh shadows. The sun, a flashlight, and the headlights of a car all produce directional light. You can aim directional light at a specific area without much spill into other areas.
Diffused light
causes a more general illumination. Its diffused beam spreads out quickly and illuminates a large area. Because diffused light seems to come from all directions (is omnidirectional), it has no clearly defined shadows; they seem soft and transparent.

EX. A good example of diffused light occurs on a foggy day, when the fog operates like a huge diffusion filter for the sun. Observe the shadows in bright sunlight and on an overcast or foggy day; they are quite distinct and dense in sunlight but hardly visible in fog.
The fluorescent lighting in elevators and supermarkets is a good example of?
diffused indoor light. It is used to minimize the harsh shadows on a face or an object and to illuminate large areas.
One foot-candle (fc)?
is 1 candlepower of light (called a lumen) that falls on a 1-square-foot area located 1 foot away from the light source.
The European measure for light intensity is?
lux—1 lumen of light that falls on a surface of 1 square meter that is 1 meter away from the light source (1 meter is a little more than 3 feet).
lux—
1 lumen of light that falls on a surface of 1 square meter that is 1 meter away from the light source (1 meter is a little more than 3 feet).
Twenty foot-candles is approximately?
200 lux (20 × 10 = 200).
Two thousand lux is approximately?
200 fc (2,000 ÷ 10 = 200).
A room that has an overall illumination of?
200 fc, or 2,000 lux, has quite a bit of light or, more technically, has a fairly high degree of light intensity.
Baselight refers to?
general illu- mination, or the overall light intensity, such as the 200 fc in the room we just talked about. You determine baselight levels by pointing a light meter (which reads foot- candles or lux) from the illuminated object or scene toward the camera.
incident light
(what enters the lens or what comes from a specific instrument)
reflected light
reflected light (bouncing off the lighted object).
Contrast?
refers to the difference between the brightest and the darkest spots in a video image.

Contrary to your eye, which can distinguish subtle brightness steps over a contrast ratio with a wide range, even high-end video cameras may be limited to a lower contrast range.
Attached shadows seems?
affixed to the object and can- not be seen independent of it. Take your coffee cup and hold it next to a window or table lamp.
ATTACHED SHADOWS DEFINE SHAPE
Attached shadows help define the basic shape of the object. Without attached shadows, we perceive a triangle on the left; with attached shadows, we perceive a cone on the right.
Attached shadows reveal?
form and texture.
ROUGH TEXTURE
Prominent attached shadows emphasize texture. The surface of this Styrofoam ball looks rough.
SMOOTH TEXTURE
Here the attached shadows are almost eliminated, so the surface of the ball looks relatively smooth.
ATTACHED SHADOWS MINIMIZED
To emphasize the smoothness of the model's face, attached shadows are kept to a minimum.
ATTACHED SHADOWS EMPHASIZED
With the light coming from the side, the attached shadows on this Aztec Sun Stone are more prominent, and the rich, deep texture is properly emphasized.
ATTACHED SHADOWS MINIMIZED
With the light shining directly on the Sun Stone, the lack of at- tached shadows makes the intricate carvings look relatively flat.
REVERSAL OF ATTACHED SHADOWS
The below-eye-level light source causes the at- tached shadows to fall opposite their expected positions. We interpret such unusual shadow placement as spooky or mysterious.
CAST SHADOWS
Cast shadows are usually cast by an object onto some other surface. In this case the cast shadows of the railing fall on the boards of the bridge.
Cast shadows help tell us where things?
are and when events take place.
Falloff?
indicates the degree of change from light to shadow. Specifically, it refers to the relative abruptness—the speed—with which light areas turn into shadow areas, or the brightness contrast between the light and shadow sides of an object.
cast shadows?
can be seen independent of the object caus- ing them.
Falloff defines the contrast between?
light and dark areas and how quickly light turns into shadow.
FAST FALLOFF
The change of light to shadow areas on these buildings is very sudden. The falloff is extremely fast, indicating an edge or a corner.
SLOW FALLOFF
The attached shadow on this balcony gets gradually darker. The falloff is relatively slow, indicating a curved surface.
beam splitter that divides the white light transmitted by the lens into the three primary light colors-?
red, green, and blue (RGB)—and how we can produce all video colors by adding the red, green, and blue light in certain proportions.
These are called additive primary colors?
because we mix them by adding one colored light beam on top of others.
ADDITIVE COLOR MIXING
When mixing colored light, the additive primaries are red, green, and blue. All other colors can be achieved by mixing certain quantities of red, green, and blue light. For example, the additive mixture of red and green light produces yellow.
The additive primary colors of light?
are red, green, and blue.
Color temperature, expressed in?
K (Kelvin), measures the relative reddishness or bluishness of white light. Reddish white light has a low color temperature; bluish white light has a high color temperature.
he standard by which we measure the relative reddishness or bluishness of white light is called?
color temperature.
white balance refers to?
adjusting the camera so that it reproduces a white object as white on the screen regardless of whether it is illuminated by a high-color-temperature source (the sun at high noon, fluorescent lamps, and 5,600K instruments) or a low-color-temperature source (candlelight, incandescent lights, and 3,200K instruments).
How to white-balance?
To white-balance a camera with a semiautomatic system, take a screen-filling close-up of a white card, a white shirt, or even a clean tissue and press the white-balance button.
WHITE BALANCE
To counteract tinting caused by variations in color temperature, you must white-balance the camera. This adjusts the RGB channels to compensate for the unwanted color cast and make white look white.
Unless the camera has a fully automatic white- balance system, you need to white-balance every time you enter a?
new lighting environment.
Spotlights throw a?
directional, more or less defined beam that illuminates a specific area; they cause harsh, dense shadows.
Floodlights pro- duce a?
great amount of nondirectional, diffused light that yields transparent shadows.
STUDIO LIGHTING
BATTEN WITH SPOTLIGHTS
AND FLOODLIGHT
Lighting battens consist of a large grid of steel pipes that supports the lighting instru- ments. In this case, the batten can be lowered or raised us- ing a counterweight system.
FRESNEL SPOTLIGHT
The Fresnel spotlight is the workhorse of studio lighting. Its lens creates a relatively sharp light beam that can be partially blocked by barn doors. This spotlight can be focused, tilted up and down, and panned sideways by turning the knobs with a lighting pole (a wooden pole with a metal hook at the end).
BEAM CONTROL OF FRESNEL SPOTLIGHT
A. To flood (spread) the beam, turn the focus knob, ring, or spindle so that the lamp-reflector unit moves toward the lens.

B. To spot (focus) the beam, turn the focus knob, ring, or spindle so that the lamp-reflector unit moves away from the lens.
METAL HALIDE FRESNEL SPOTLIGHT
This metal-halide Fresnel spot has a built-in ballast. It has a very high light output with relatively low-wattage metal-halide lamps.
Spotlights produce a?
sharp, directional light beam and cause fast falloff.
LOWEL OMNI-LIGHT
This popular lightweight instrument doubles as a spot and a floodlight and is used mainly in ENG/EFP.

You can plug it into any normal household outlet and hold it or fasten it to a light stand or any other convenient mounting device.
LOWEL PRO-LIGHT
The Pro-light is a small, powerful (250W) ENG/EFP spotlight that can be handheld, clipped to the camera, or mounted on a light stand. With its lenslike prismatic glass, it produces an excep- tionally even beam.
CLIP LIGHT WITH BARN DOORS
Small spotlights, which use ordinary internal reflector lamps, are useful for illuminating small areas during field productions.
SCOOP WITH SCRIM
The scooplike reflector of this floodlight allows you to give its diffused beam some direction, which makes it a good fill light. With a scrim attached to its otherwise open face, it acts more like a broad.
SOFTLIGHT
This floodlight is covered with diffusing material and delivers extremely diffused light. It causes very slow falloff and renders shadows virtually invisible.
FLUORESCENT BANK
The fluorescent bank consists of a series of fluorescent tubes. It produces very soft light with slow falloff.
LED LIGHT PANEL
This 12-by-12-inch LED light panel is dimmable, generates very little heat, draws little power for an amazingly high light out- put, and burns longer than any kind of incandescent lamp.
DIFFUSION TENT
Small portable lights, including spotlights, can be made into effective softlights by diffusing their beams with light tents.
CHINESE LANTERN
These floodlights produce highly diffused light over a large area.
Floodlights produce general?
nondirectional illumination and cause slow falloff.
ELLIPSOIDAL SPOTLIGHT
The ellipsoidal spotlight produces an extremely sharp, bright beam. It is used to illuminate precise areas.
COOKIE PATTERN
Some ellipsoidal spotlights double as pattern projectors. You can insert a variety of metal cutouts, called cookies, whose patterns are projected by the spotlight onto a wall or other surface.
STRIP, OR CYC, LIGHT
These instruments are used primarily to illuminate cycloramas, drapes, and large scenic areas.
SMALL EFP FLOODLIGHT
This small EFP floodlight (Lowel V-light) runs off ordinary household current and can be used to illuminate small areas. When mounted inside an umbrella reflector, it serves as a softlight
C-CLAMP used to?
fasten heavy lighting instruments to the lighting battens.

Even when tightly fastened to the batten, the C-clamp allows a lighting instrument to be rotated.
Do not abandon safety?
for expediency.
BASIC PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINCIPLE
The basic photographic principle uses a key light, a fill light, and a back light. They are arranged in a triangle, with the back light at its apex, opposite the camera.
The basic photographic principle, or triangle lighting, consists of?
a key light,
a fill light,
and a back light.
the key light?
reveals the basic shape
the fill light?
h fills in the shadows if they are too dense
the back light?
separates the object from the background and provides some sparkle.
The various lighting techniques for video and motion pictures are firmly rooted in this basic principle of still photography, called the?
photo- graphic principle, or triangle lighting.
BASIC PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINCIPLE
The basic photographic principle uses a key light, a fill light, and a back light. They are arranged in a triangle, with the back light at its apex, opposite the camera.
KEY LIGHT
The key light is the principal light source. It reveals the basic shape of the object.

A spotlight is generally used as a key.
BACK LIGHT ADDED
The back light outlines the subject against the background and provides sparkle.

Focused spots are used as back lights.
Unless you want a dark back- ground, you need additional light to illuminate the background or set. This additional source is called the
background light or set light.
FILL LIGHT ADDED
The fill light slows down falloff and renders shadows more transparent. Floodlights are generally used to fill in dense shadows.
BACKGROUND LIGHT ADDED
The background, or set, light illumi- nates the background and various set areas. Spots or floodlights are used on the same side as the key.
The major criterion for good lighting is?
how it looks on the video monitor.
HIGH-KEY LIGHTING
shows a bright scene with an abundance of diffused light. The background is usually light.
LOW-KEY LIGHTING
shows dramatic, selective lighting with fast- falloff attached and prominent cast shadows.
The background is usually dark.
light plots are?
rough sketches to indicate the approximate positions of lights; arrows indicate the approximate directions of their beams.
SIMPLE LIGHT PLOT SKETCH
FOR TWO-PERSON INTERVIEW
Most light plots are rough sketches that indicate the types of lights used (spots or floods), their approximate positions, and the general direction of their beams.
DETAILED
LIGHT PLOT FOR TWO-
PERSON INTERVIEW
This light plot shows the type and the position of the lighting instruments used and the approximate directions of their beams.

Sometimes light plots even indicate the size (wattage) of the instru- ments.

Note that there are two overlapping lighting tri- angles—one for person A and the other for person B.
Reflectors can replace?
lighting instruments.
USE OF A REFLECTOR
The reflector acts like a fill light: it bounces some light back toward the dense shadow areas and slows down falloff.
TWO-POINT INDOOR LIGHTING
To achieve effective triangle lighting with only two lights, use one for the key light and the other for the back light.

Fill light is achieved with a reflector.
In the field, light for?
visibility rather than artistic impact.
WINDOW USED AS BACK LIGHT?
In this interview setup, the lighting is done with a single instrument. A diffused Lowel Omni-light with a light-blue gel acts as the key.

The back light is provided by the win- dow, which is kept out of camera range.
GUIDELINES: FIELD LIGHTING
Scout a head

Be prepared

Don't over load circuits

Don't waste lamp life

Secure the light stands

Move cords carefully

Be time conscious
Light and Shadow Control
Lighting is the deliberate illumination of a performance area and the control of
attached and cast shadows.
Types of Light and Light Intensity
The two basic types of light are directional and diffused. Directional light is focused and causes harsh shadows.

Diffused light is spread out and creates soft shadows.

Light intensity is measured in foot-candles (fc) or European lux.

There is approximately 10 lux per foot-candle.
Contrast and Measuring Light
Contrast is the difference between the darkest and the brightest areas in the video image.

This contrast is often expressed as a ratio, such as 60:1, which means that the brightest spot is 60 times the intensity of the darkest spot.

Many cameras tolerate a relatively limited contrast ratio, ranging from 50:1 to 100:1.

When measuring contrast, the light meter must read reflected light. When measuring baselight levels, the meter reads incident light.
Shadows and Falloff
There are two types of shadows: attached and cast.

Attached shadows are affixed to the object; they cannot be seen independent of it.

Cast shadows can be seen independent of the objects that cause them.

Falloff indicates the change from light to shadow and the contrast between light and shadow areas. Fast falloff means that the light area changes abruptly into dense shadow area; the contrast is high.

Slow falloff means that the light turns gradually into the shadow side; the contrast is low.
Colors and Color Temperature
Colors are generated through additive color mixing.

All colors are mixed by adding the primary light colors—red, green, and blue (RGB)—in various proportions. Color temperature refers to the relative reddishness or bluishness of white light.

White- balancing adjusts the camera to the color temperature of the prevailing illumination so that the camera will reproduce a white object as white on the video screen.
Lighting Instruments
Lights are usually classified into spotlights and floodlights, and studio and portable lights. Spotlights produce a sharp, focused beam; floodlights produce highly diffused, nondirectional illumination. Studio lights are normally suspended from the ceiling.

Portable lights are smaller and supported by collapsible light stands.
The Photographic Principle, or Triangle Lighting
Lighting functions can usually be achieved with the basic photographic principle: a key light (principal light source), a fill light (fills in dense shadows), and a back light (separates the subject from the background and gives it sparkle).

This is also known as three-point lighting. Reflectors frequently substitute for fill lights.

The background light is an additional light used for lighting the background and the set area. In field, or location, lighting, it is often more important to provide sufficient illumination than careful triangle lighting. In the field floodlights are used more often than spotlights.
High-Key and Low-Key Lighting
High-key lighting uses an abundance of bright, diffused light, resulting in slow- falloff or flat lighting; the high-key scene generally has a light background and an upbeat mood.

Low-key lighting uses few spotlights to create fast-falloff lighting and prominent cast shadows; it illuminates only selected areas and projects a dramatic mood.
Windows
In EFP lighting, a window can serve as a key or a side-back light, so long as it is off-camera.


All indoor incandescent instruments must have light-blue color media attached to match the color temperature of the outdoor light coming through the window.
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